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CafeDurbanville
Oatlands Cafe is a farmstyle garden cafe on Vissershok Road in Durbanville, on the quiet inland edge of metropolitan Cape Town, loved by cyclists.
Why locals goMountain bikers finishing the Tygerberg trails treat this farm cafe as their regular stop, while it sits far enough inland that most visitors skip Durbanville entirely.
TipTime a visit around the Tygerberg mountain bike trails, and let kids loose on the lawn while your coffee is poured.
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SeafoodHout Bay
Snoekies is a fish and chips takeaway at the far end of Hout Bay harbour near Cape Town, where the brand began in a converted bus parked there in 1951.
Why locals goIt sits at the far end of Harbour Road, past the point on the Hout Bay waterfront where most visitors turn back, on the spot where its founder parked a converted bus in 1951.
TipHead upstairs if you have children: the Hout Bay branch has a big indoor play area with a jungle gym and sandpit beside the dining room.
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South AfricanBo Kaap
Bo-Kaap Kombuis serves home-style Cape Malay bobotie and denningvleis from a house on August Street in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, with a Table Mountain view.
Why locals goIt operates out of an ordinary house on August Street rather than a Bo-Kaap storefront, so the Table Mountain view from the dining room stays a surprise until you sit down.
TipAsk for a window table before you sit; the view over the City Bowl is why regulars book ahead for weekend dinners.
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SeafoodPlumstead
Plumstead Fisheries fries fish and chips on Main Road in Plumstead, a southern suburb of Cape Town well away from the coastal harbour counters.
Why locals goSouthern suburbs regulars queue here straight after work instead of driving to the coast, since the fryer turns out the same fish and chips without the trip to Kalk Bay.
TipAsk what came in fresh that morning before ordering, since the counter also sells whole fish to take home and cook.
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VegetarianAthlone
Baps Shayona cooks pure vegetarian Indian meals in a back room behind its Rylands grocery counter, in a Cape Town suburb most visitors skip.
Why locals goThe shopfront looks like a spice and toothpaste grocer from the street, and only the small back room with a few tables gives away that it also cooks a full vegetarian Indian menu.
TipOrder from the hot counter rather than the printed menu, the fresh curries and sweets change with what was cooked that morning.
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SeafoodHout Bay
Hooked on Africa Fresh Fish Market sells the day's catch and fried fish straight off Hout Bay harbour, on the working side of Cape Town's fishing fleet.
Why locals goHout Bay's own restaurants buy their fish here before it reaches any menu, and the wharf side counter still sells the same catch to anyone willing to queue with the trade.
TipAsk which fish came in that morning before choosing, the counter fillets to order and the selection changes with the boats.